Today’s Headlines….

Today’s Headlines….

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has requested a moratorium on mergers and acquisitions over $100 billion (£64 billion) in the US involving financial institutions.

Chris Cole, senior vice-president and senior regulatory counsel of the body, stated that concerns still exist about the concentration of banks assets and the effect this could have on competition.

He was speaking to the Federal Reserve during a hearing on the potential takeover of ING Direct USA by Capital One Financial.

Mr Cole remarked his biggest concern is the possibility of “systematic risk” should the business negotiations be allowed to continue.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was brought in last year to stop the culture of “too-big-too-fail”, he added, but there is still no regulatory apparatus in place as a result of this move.

Some 280,000 Americans are employed by the ICBA, which has nearly 5,000 members and operates in 23,000 locations throughout the US.

Posted by David Gleck

Source: Independent Community Bankers of America press release, September 20th